BackgroundMulti-centre studies generally cost more than single-centre studies because of larger sample sizes and the need for multiple ethical approvals. Multi-centre studies include clinical trials, clinical quality registries, observational studies and implementation studies. We examined the costs of two large Australian multi-centre studies in obtaining ethical and site-specific approvals.MethodsWe collected data on staff time spent on approvals and expressed the overall cost as a percent of the total budget.ResultsThe total costs of gaining approval were 38 % of the budget for (...) a study of 50 centres (mean cost AUD $6960 per site) and 2 % for a study of 11 centres (mean cost AUD $2300 per site). Seventy-five and 90 % of time was spent on repeated tasks, respectively, and many time-consuming tasks, such as reformatting documents, did nothing to improve the study design or participant safety.ConclusionsImprovements have been made to the ethical approval application system, but more gains could be made without increasing risks of harm to research participants. We propose that ethical review bodies and individual sites publish statistics on how long they take to process approvals which could then be nationally benchmarked. (shrink)

“Thank you Andrew and Ann Goldman for the persistence that it took to achieve the portraits in Facing North. It is a historic document for Ely, Minnesota that has worldwide interest as a snapshot of a unique northern community. You so accurately captured my friends and neighbors and I will always cherish this book.” —Will Steger “My work as a photojournalist has involved assignments about people and faraway cultures as often as about raw nature. Alas, I always felt there were (...) more stories per square foot in Ely as anywhere else I have been. Look into these Ely faces Goldman has captured with his razor-sharp lens and read the stories in their eyes.” —Jim Brandenburg, from the Foreword Perched on the edge of the northern woods at the gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Ely, Minnesota, holds special meaning for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. But what is it like for the people who live there year-round? Ann and Andrew Goldman offer a revealing portrayal of the unique people who call Ely home. Featuring more than one hundred portraits as well as vivid essays, Facing North tells the story of life in this Northwoods community: its breathtaking beauty, surprisingly diverse character, and complex history. A thriving destination area, Ely is a changing community, yet its traditions remain vibrant and strong. From resort owners and fishermen to canoe makers and artists, Facing North is an evocative tribute to the enduring nature of Ely and its people. This project is made possible in part by a grant from the Donald G. Gardner Humanities Trust. Andrew Goldman is a freelance commercial photographer. His clients include ESPN and Playboy Enterprises, and his photographs have appeared on more than forty magazine covers. Ann Goldman is a freelance writer and presenter whose professional background is in museum and nonprofit management. They live in Boulder, Colorado, with their two sons. The work of award-winning nature photographer Jim Brandenburg has been featured in National Geographic magazine since 1978. His many books include Chased by the Light and Looking for the Summer. He lives near Ely, Minnesota, where his work can be seen at Brandenburg Gallery. (shrink)

Anne Conway was an extraordinary figure in a remarkable age. Her mastery of the intricate doctrines of the Lurianic Kabbalah, her authorship of a treatise criticising the philosophy of Descartes, Hobbes, and Spinoza, and her scandalous conversion to the despised sect of Quakers indicate a strength of character and independence of mind wholly unexpected (and unwanted) in a woman at the time. Translated for the first time into modern English, her Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy is (...) the most interesting and original philosophical work written by a woman in the seventeenth century. Her radical and unorthodox ideas are important not only because they anticipated the more tolerant, ecumenical, and optimistic philosophy of the Enlightenment, but also because of their influence on Leibniz. This fully annotated edition includes an introduction which places Conway in her historical and philosophical contexts, together with a chronology of her life and a bibliography. (shrink)

Book review for 50 Concepts for a Critical Phenomenology, edited by Gail Weiss, Anne V. Murphy, and Gayle Salamon (2020).

We propose that marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to Black and Latino consumers results from the intersection of a business model in which profits come primarily from marketing an unhealthy mix of products, standard targeted marketing strategies, and societal forces of structural racism, and contributes to health disparities.

Alexis Anne-Braun Dans cet article, je présente quelques-uns des enjeux du débat en philosophie contemporaine sur la photographie. Ce débat, comme cela a déjà été noté dans un certain nombre de publications récentes, est en fait hanté par une question sceptique, qui fut posée à la photographie dès son invention : si l’image photographique s’excepte du régime traditionnel de la représentation et si elle est bien le résultat d’une prise de vue automatique, en quel sens pouvons-nous encore dire qu’elle (...) est artistique? Il me semble que le concept goodmanien d’exemplification permet de répondre au défi lancé par le sceptique. J’essaie de montrer pourquoi. Plus encore, je m’emploie à montrer comment le concept goodmanien d’exemplification pourrait s’accommoder assez bien de la spécificité du médium photographique. (shrink)

In this paper, I reflect on an important article by Bob Veatch in the inaugural issue of the Hastings Center Report, entitled “Experimental Pregnancy.” It is a report and elegant analysis of the Goldzieher Study, in which nearly 400 women were randomized to receive hormonal contraception or placebo absent consent or disclosure about placebo use, resulting in several pregnancies. Noting the study’s limited notoriety, I first consider the narratives that have instead dominated bioethics’ approach to pregnancy and research: thalidomide and (...) diethylstibesterol. These narratives have facilitated a narrow focus on avoiding fetal risk, to the exclusion of other ethically relevant considerations. I then revisit “Experimental Pregnancy” and offer two ways in which Bob’s analysis serves as an important corrective, first, by foregrounding research subjects, and second, by normalizing pregnancy and thus foregrounding foundational ethical considerations that are sometimes lost amidst pregnancy’s presumed exceptionalism. (shrink)

During mitosis, cells comprehensively restructure their interior to promote the faithful inheritance of DNA and cytoplasmic contents. In metazoans, this restructuring entails disassembly of the nuclear envelope, redistribution of its components into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and eventually nuclear envelope reassembly around the segregated chromosomes. The microtubule cytoskeleton has recently emerged as a critical regulator of mitotic nuclear envelope and ER dynamics. Microtubules and associated molecular motors tear open the nuclear envelope in prophase and remove nuclear envelope remnants from chromatin. (...) Additionally, two distinct mechanisms of microtubule‐based regulation of ER dynamics operate later in mitosis. First, association of the ER with microtubules is reduced, preventing invasion of ER into the spindle area, and second, organelle membrane is actively cleared from metaphase chromosomes. However, we are only beginning to understand the role of microtubules in shaping and distributing ER and other organelles during mitosis. (shrink)

In 2002, at the Shanghai Biennale, which she attended to publicize French artists’ work, the gallery-owner Anne Lettrée was fascinated to discover the vitality of young Chinese artists. Since that date she has made around ten trips to the People's Republic and set up contacts with more than 150 artists from all disciplines (painters, sculptors, photographers, etc.)Her meeting with Ma Liuming, who lives in Beijing and whose early work dates back 15 years or so, resulted in a show in (...) Paris, in the Anne Lettrée gallery, in 2003. With the title ‘Corps de Chine - Acte I’ it was the start of a series of events around gender and sexuality - or sexing - themes that are at the same time central and concealed in Chinese civilization. (shrink)

"Le Théétète pose la question de la connaissance, propose trois définitions, les réfute toutes trois. Devant cette apparente aporie, les commentateurs s'interrogent sur l'intention de Platon : abandonne-t-il la théorie des Formes ou décide-t-il de la refonder? Cette alternative, en partie induite par une lecture évolutionniste des dialogues, domine l'exégèse de ce dialogue. L'auteur en propose une approche radicalement différente : le Théétète n'est pas un dialogue aporétique, mais un dialogue doxographique. Platon y expose les thèses de ses prédécesseurs pour (...) mieux les réfuter. Anne Balansard consacre son analyse à la première partie du Théétète. Elle montre comment la greffe d'une physique mobiliste sur l'épistémologie protagoréenne de l'homme mesure est partie intégrante d'une stratégie réfutative. Ce faisant, elle récuse toutes les lectures qui font du mobilisme du Théétète une version radicalisée du devenir platonicien. En travaillant sur la doxographie platonicienne dans la première partie du Théétète, l'auteur prolonge la réflexion qu'elle avait initiée, dans son précédent livre, sur les rapports de Platon à ses prédécesseurs."--P. [4] of cover. (shrink)

The standard process for starting anamnesis in the follow-up cancer consultation is for the doctor to ask a ‘How are you?’ question. This question gives the patient the opportunity to give a gloss of their general condition and offer the first topic of discussion. Findings in earlier analyses of US and UK data in a broad array of medical contexts show that the question is ambiguous and hence patients may interpret it as social rather than medical. A discourse analysis of (...) a corpus of 28 video-taped consultations shows that the ‘How are you?’ question in the context of Dutch follow-up cancer consultations is consistently interpreted by both doctor and patients as a holistic medical question, making relevant a – frequently complex and nuanced – medically oriented response. We suggest that this difference may have to do with the interactional norms of hospital visits in the Netherlands, and with the specific contextual parameters of return visits, more specifically with follow-up cancer consultations, which affect the way the HAY question is placed, intended and understood. (shrink)

This book provides an accessible introduction to jurisprudence and legal theory. It sets out a course of study that offers a highly effective series of introductions into a wide variety of theories and theoretical perspectives, from traditional approaches such as Natural Law to modern ones such as Feminist Theory, Economic Analysis of Law and Foucault and Law, The book is designed for students of jurisprudence and legal theory, but it will also assist those studying law and legal systems within courses (...) on Political Science, Philosophy and Sociology. (shrink)

Résumé. : L’article s’interroge sur la manière dont l’institution scolaire est aujourd’hui mise en question dans son projet de formation par les activités juvéniles, dans une sphère extrascolaire où ils jouissent d’une grande autonomie. Ces activités électives (numériques, musicales, sportives…) réalisent une éducation informelle où les adolescents forgent leur caractère, alors même que l’école n’a plus de modèle lisible de projet éducatif. À partir d’une enquête qualitative réalisée auprès d’une centaine d’adolescents français, on dégagera différentes épreuves qui forment les adolescents (...) dans cette sphère, avant de montrer comment elles mettent en question les finalités, mais aussi les modalités de fonctionnement de l’école. Abstract: This article examines how school is questioned today by youth culture and its activities, especially outside school where teenagers are notably autonomous. These chosen activities (digital music, sports, dance, musical activities ...) could be described as an informal education which tends to build the identity and the self of the youth. From a qualitative survey conducted among a hundred French teenagers, we will first identify different trials teenagers face in this specific sphere, before showing how they are questioning the goals, but also the operating procedures of school. (shrink)

Der von Anne Tilkorn herausgegebene Sammelband Kant und Spinoza. Motivationen fur das Selbst beschaftigt sich mit den verborgenen Gemeinsamkeiten der beiden Philosophen in ihren Letztbegrundungen fur moralisches Handeln. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei die Begriffe der Selbstreferenz und Freiheit. Die Beitrage gehen den Folgen der sowohl bei Kant als auch bei Spinoza anzutreffenden Grundannahme einer "Ent-Aristotelisierung" auf dem Gebiet der Motivationstheorien, also der praktischen Philosophie nach. Dass zum Handeln auch eine Motivation gehort, ist fur beide Denker klar. Spinoza wie Kant (...) wussten um die Relevanz des Gefuhls - nicht als Fundament einer Moral, aber als notwendiger Beweggrund fur den Vollzug des moralischen Tuns. Und sie haben des Ofteren dieselbe Einschatzung hinsichtlich des Stellenwerts bestimmter Gefuhle: So sehen sie beide im Mitleid eine Schwache und keine Tugend, von beiden Philosophen ist der Ausspruch "Die Tugend ist ihr eigener Lohn" bekannt. Doch wo begegnen sich ihre Theoriestrukturen? Trotz der auf den ersten Blick so grossen Differenzen - Spinozas Determinismus versus Kants freier Wille, Spinozas Ansatz einer Einheit von Theorie und Praxis versus Kants strikte Unterscheidung zwischen theoretischer und praktischer Vernunft - lassen sich viele kongruente Linien in ihren Argumenten entdecken, die nun in fundierten Einzelstudien herausgestellt werden. (shrink)

A commentary on “Why We Should All Pay for Fertility Treatment: An Argument from Ethics and Policy,” from the March‐April 2013 issue.

The analysis of aesthetic phenomena using scientific methods sometimes conceals the difficulties of experimental aesthetics. In the study with Bill Viola’s videoinstallation The Greeting, the discrepancy of theoretical claim and experimental reality takes shape exemplarily. The ambitious aim of dissecting the (emotional-aesthetic) perception of The Greeting follows the standards of experimental/empirical research. The data, however, offers not only confirming correlations, but also unexpected findings and interpretive impasses that force a revision of the thesis. With a retrospective view on the completed (...) experiment, the suspicion is confirmed that proving aesthetic experience with the means of the natural sciences is informative, but also limited. (shrink)

It is widely felt that the sorts of ideas current in modern laterality and split-brain research are largely without precedent in the behavioral and brain sciences. This paper not only challenges that view, but makes a first attempt to define the relevance of older concepts and data to present research programs.

This research questions the prevention and health promotion practices developed for young people, in France, and re-examines the nature of competences enlisted in the classical model of empowerment in health education. Moving away from the epidemiological postulate of evidence based medicine (EBM), it explores another approach of these educational practices. The research uses the perspective of narrative mediation; it tries also to identify issues about a better knowledge of oneself, making more comprehensive the issues of young students’ health.